A bequest of silver gelatin photographic paper and an almost chance email conversation about lumen prints inspired J. M. Golding to use this unusual cameraless photographic technique to find her way through a time of loss and betrayal.

Lumen printing is an alternative photographic process with roots in the 19th century, at the dawn of modern photography. It involves exposing black and white silver gelatin paper to sunlight, which produces a startling range of colors. Each lumen print is unique, and the results from the process are unpredictable. As J. M. made these lumen prints, both human connection and final image were dimly glimpsed ahead of time, with their form, their full possibilities, and at times, even their very existence unimagined.

This volume’s mysterious, surreal botanical images, often verging on abstraction, suggest plants from a dream garden. They invite reverie and offer viewers the possibility of finding resonance with their own stories.